5 Costly Mistakes South Africans Make With Their Wills

A Will Is Only Useful If It Works

You've done the responsible thing. You've created a will. Your family knows it exists. You feel a sense of relief. But here's the uncomfortable question: is your will actually valid? Does it accurately reflect your current wishes? Will it hold up when your family needs it most?

Thousands of South African families discover every year that their loved one's will contains errors that lead to partial or complete invalidity, costly legal disputes, and outcomes that directly contradict what the deceased intended. The good news is that every one of these mistakes is entirely preventable.

Mistake 1: Having Beneficiaries Witness Your Will

This is one of the most devastating mistakes because it seems so innocent. You need two witnesses, and your spouse or adult child is right there. Convenient, right?

Under Section 4A of the Wills Act, any person who signs a will as a witness — or whose spouse signs as a witness — is disqualified from receiving any benefit under that will. This means if your wife witnesses your will, she inherits nothing, regardless of what the will says. If your son's spouse witnesses the will, your son is disqualified.

The fix is simple: always use witnesses who are not beneficiaries, not married to beneficiaries, and not the executor. Colleagues, neighbours, or friends make ideal witnesses.

Mistake 2: Not Updating Your Will After Major Life Events

A will is a snapshot of your life and wishes at the moment it's created. But life doesn't stand still. The will you drafted when you were newly married with no children may be completely inadequate when you have three kids, a house, and a business.

Events that should trigger an immediate will review include marriage (note that marriage automatically revokes a previous will in South Africa unless the will was specifically made in contemplation of that marriage), divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the death of a beneficiary or executor, a significant change in your assets (buying property, starting a business, receiving an inheritance), and changes in legislation that affect estate planning.

Many people know they should update their will but put it off because the process seems time-consuming and expensive. Every month of delay is a month your family is exposed to the consequences of an outdated plan.

Mistake 3: Not Planning for Estate Liquidity

Your estate might be worth R5 million on paper — but if R4.5 million of that is locked up in property and retirement funds, your executor may have a serious problem. Estate duty, executor's fees, outstanding debts, and administration costs all need to be paid in cash before beneficiaries receive anything.

If your estate lacks sufficient liquid assets (cash, easily realisable investments), your executor may be forced to sell property or other assets — potentially at below market value and during unfavourable conditions — to raise the necessary funds. This could mean selling the family home your spouse still lives in, or disposing of the business you spent decades building.

The solution is liquidity planning: ensuring your estate has enough accessible cash to cover all costs and taxes. This typically involves a combination of cash reserves, liquid investments, and strategically structured life insurance.

When calculating your liquidity needs, consider executor's fees (up to 3.5% of gross estate value plus VAT), estate duty (if applicable), outstanding debts and bond balances, capital gains tax on deemed disposal, and administration costs. Your will should include instructions on how your executor should source the liquidity needed.

Mistake 4: Using a Generic Template Without Professional Review

The internet is full of free will templates, and they can be tempting. Fill in a few blanks, sign it, and you're done — right?

Generic templates are designed for generic situations. They don't account for the nuances of your specific circumstances — your marital property regime, business interests, blended family dynamics, international assets, or the dozen other factors that make your situation unique.

Common problems with template wills include vague or ambiguous language that different people interpret differently, missing clauses (residue clauses, testamentary trust provisions, substitution clauses), failure to account for your specific marital regime, incorrect assumptions about how South African law handles specific situations, and omission of important instructions regarding debts, taxes, and administration.

The result is a will that creates confusion, invites disputes, and may be partially or fully unenforceable. Professional guidance — whether from an attorney or a well-designed digital platform with legal compliance built in — ensures your will covers all essential elements and reflects your actual intentions.

Mistake 5: Not Telling Anyone Where Your Will Is Stored

You could have the most perfectly drafted will in South Africa, but if nobody can find it after your death, it might as well not exist. The Master of the High Court only accepts original signed wills. A photocopy is not sufficient.

Surprisingly many people store their will without telling anyone where it is. It might be in a home safe (but who knows the combination?), at an attorney's office (but which attorney?), in a bank safe deposit box (but who has access?), or buried in a pile of paperwork at home.

If your will cannot be produced, your estate will be administered as if you died intestate. All your careful planning becomes worthless.

The solution has two parts. First, store your will somewhere secure and accessible — whether that's with a professional, in a known safe, or using a secure digital storage platform. Second, ensure that your executor, spouse, and at least one other trusted person know exactly where to find it.

How to Check If Your Will Has These Problems

Take 10 minutes right now to review your existing will against this checklist.

Are all witnesses independent — not beneficiaries or spouses of beneficiaries? Does the will reflect your current family structure, including any marriages, divorces, or children since it was last updated? Have you planned for liquidity, or is your estate tied up in illiquid assets? Was the will drafted or reviewed by a professional, or is it a DIY template? Do at least two people know where the original signed will is stored?

If you answered "no" or "I'm not sure" to any of these questions, it's time to review and update your will.

How Legacy Guardian Prevents These Mistakes

Legacy Guardian® was designed to eliminate these common pitfalls from the start. Our guided will builder takes you through a structured process that ensures every essential element is included and correctly addressed.

The platform won't let you accidentally appoint a beneficiary as a witness. It prompts you to review and update whenever life circumstances change. It includes provisions for liquidity planning and testamentary trusts. And it solves the storage problem entirely — your will is stored with 256-bit AES encryption and accessible to your appointed guardians through our secure platform.

Smart notifications keep your guardians informed, controlled access ensures the right people can find your will when needed, and the ability to update anytime means your will never falls out of date.

Don't let preventable mistakes undermine the protection your family deserves.

Review and Update Your Will Today — Start with Legacy Guardian®

Legacy Guardian® provides digital estate planning tools designed to help South African families create valid, comprehensive, and accessible wills. Visit legacyguardian.co.za to protect your legacy.